soulcurry wrote:I dont understand (not surprised though !) seeing Tagore in a couple of top 5 lists. I thought it was a load of trash..phony and amateurish.. I once asked a friend who rates Tagore as one of the top 3 telugu films of all times the reasons for his choice and other than chirus dances he points me to the scene where chiru reels out a long list of stats and data pertaining to the state of A.P. That according to him is a stroke of genius.

Huh.. Is that what great cinema is all about?

I agree with you SOULCURRY, whenever we talk to people and good indians movies all we get are movies which are blockbuster super hits which sadly are nothing but masala movies.
In my view a good movie is that which captures the essence of what it wants to convey in a few scences and the rest of movie ablely supports those few scences.

And performances define a movie, not dances and fights. I dont know if we will ever understand that as a collective audience.

If someone says, Matrix is a great movie what most people India relate to is the stunts in the movie. But the greatness of Matrix is more about the philosophy behind the movie. Rarely anyone understands that.

Therefore we will have movies like "Indra" being big hits where as "Rudraveena" languishes as a flop.

"REALITY IS THAT WHICH, WHEN YOU STOP BELIEVING IN IT,DOESN'T GO AWAY."-PHILIP K._.

if u read a few of the earlier posts, u can see that the poll was for top "masala" films too.

btw, for me a "good" film is one which makes me feel that my money has been spent well. it has to be "paisa vasool" - either with lots of masala or a truely differnt and interesting storyline/direction etc.

i know its sad that certain good films with a great story, performances, script, direction etc falters at the box office, but just coz a film flops doesnt mean that its a bad film

Featuring amongst the finest sreenplays written for a Telugu film. There isn't a single romantic dialogue between NTR and Savitri, yet the chemistry builds so beautifully.

Plus, Missamma was a great comedy. Some truly hilarious comic segments:

a. "Meeku Meere, Maaku Meme" where Savitri tries teaching ANR classical singing. Gets better when NTR wants to be a member of the audience and ANR is scared to death.

b. Relangi and his "thailam" were awesome, especially the part where he starts off with "Nootiki padi paallu panthulugare manchivaaru" and rips off both ANR and Jamuna.

c. NTR all through! Like, in the "Raavoyi Chandamama" song where he is confused about why his voice suddenly turned feminine.

2. Shiva

There are movies that define genres. For Telugu, this was the last one yet (the previous one being Aha Naa Pellanta).

This one enters my list for its repeat value - you can watch Shiva any number of times. It taught Tollywood the virtues of technical slickness and editing, it made a director a household name for the first (and only) time in AP, and it saved Nagarjuna from forever being a B and C center hero and put him on the radar screen of the urban youth.

3. Rudra Veena

The "Nenu Saitam" movie.

If they had handled the beating up goons part at the toddy compound better, this would have been as inspiring as a film could get. That was the only thing about this one that every ordinary man cannot do. Otherwise, this was our own Swades, long before Swades happened. This was the power of Nenu Saitam.

I think Chiranjeevi is one of the finest actors AP has produced. It saddens me when I see people on assorted Telugu forums taking sides based on the castes of actors. Despite the lines their own idols spout on screen, including, spectacularly, in this one.

It turned out that God didn't leave her for the hills and valleys, after all.

It is to K Vishwanath's credit that he made the most unlikely of hits in Telugu. Movies completely non-mass, highly esoteric themes, and a 90% strike rate at the BO. I believe he has the highest success rate of any Telugu director.

I watched Swati Mutyam when I was about 13. I did not understand much of it, but I remember I was still in tears at the end when Kamal Haasan finally died.

I do not think I understand several of K Vishwanath's films fully still. Each time I see some of them again, I gain a new perspective. Perhaps some part of the reason for that is that when I first saw them, I was too young and immature for the themes, and now I can't see them with a fresh mind.

If ever there was someone who deserved the Dadasaheb Phalke, it is Vishwanath - he made beautiful art films that were huge commercial hits. Wonder when the government will wake up.

5. Nuvvu Naaku Nachchav

I became a fan of Venkatesh with this film, which for me is a big deal since I never thought I could be a fan of any actor - I have had a poor image of "fans" since most in AP have come across to me people who will go to ridiculous extents to support someone who already has everything, and is not about to share it. How low should your self-esteem be for you to dedicate your existence to and get into trouble for someone who isn't a Gandhi or a Mother Theresa?

Detours aside, Nuvvu Naaku Nachchav gave me some of the most lovely times in a movie theater - I was laughing out aloud in almost every scene. This film showed how pure creativity in dialogues can make a film. It was so sheerly originally hilarious in every scene, and it so disciplinedly stuck to being a comedy even in the second half when almost every moviemaker screws up. Venky is perhaps the best in comedy among lead heroes in Telugu.

My top 5 movies are1.Missamma(1955): Until i had saw this movie, i hated to watch old movies. i'd changed my mind after watched dis movie. all i can say is great entertainment movie with great songs especially savitri acting was superb.

2.Maya Bazaar(1957) - Ultimate classic movie..it stands by its own way. The most perfect and impressive work of Cinematography, till date in Tollywood. I wont say much about it as people who have seen the film can understand it and if you have not seen the film then i pity you.

DONT INCLUDE dubbing movies among them.there must be atleast two films of viswanadh among top 5only trend setters will occupy the topsmy top five areswathimuthyamgeethanjalisivapathalabhairavisagarasangamam